Mayor denies murdering rival's supporters

Tuesday 5 January 2010 11:18 BST

A mayor has pleaded not guilty to arranging the shooting of 57 people in the Philippines, including 30 journalists and family of election rival Esmael Mangudadatu.

Andal Ampatuan Jr, of the Ampatuan clan, allies of the nation's president, denies 41 counts of murder in November. The victims were filing Mangudadatu's candidacy papers for the country's May elections.

Ampatuan, mayor of a town in southern Maguindanao province where his family ruled unopposed for years, is the only person to be charged over the shooting so far.

Prosecutors say they have witnesses who will testify that Ampatuan led more than 100 government-armed militiamen and police to stop the group of Mr Mangadudatu's supporters at a security checkpoint outside Ampatuan township and force the victims to a hilltop clearing where they killed them and buried them in mass graves.